


Little Rebel

by masulevin



Series: A Sword to Pierce the Sun [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 09:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8051602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masulevin/pseuds/masulevin
Summary: When Idri needs some help brushing up on her archery skills, Cullen is there to help her out. She rewards him by telling him more about herself, including why such a tiny elf fights with a greatsword.





	Little Rebel

“ _Fenhedis_.”

The arrow sank in well off the bulls eye, meeting several others on the left side of the target. She lowered the longbow she'd borrowed from Harrit and glared at the offending weapon, swearing even more colorfully in her native language.

If she hadn't been injured capturing the mercenary fortress south of Redcliffe, she wouldn't have to take it easy on her shoulder. And if she didn't have to take it easy on her shoulder, she’d be able to practice with her greatsword instead of this thrice-damned bow that clearly wasn't working correctly.

Low chuckling from behind her made her hackles raise and she turned to glare at Cullen. He was standing a few feet behind her, arms crossed across his plated chest, a smirk pulling at the scarred corner of his mouth. His smirk only grew as Idri glowered at him, rolling her eyes.

“Are you just going to laugh at me, or are you going to help?” she demanded, pulling an arrow out of her quiver to point at him.

He tilted his head to the side to study the elf in front of him. She had forgone her usual heavy armor to let her shoulder finish healing, instead wearing a rogue’s light leather armor that did little to hide her form. She wore her usual bear skin cloak, the one with the ridiculous hood with the bear’s ears still attached, though it was hanging loosely from her shoulders. Her hair was loose, curling in unruly spirals around her face. She was still scowling at him, and the expression made his smirk change into a real laugh that echoed across the practice yard.

“Try again so I can see what you're doing.” He closed the distance between them to watch as she carefully notched and aimed the arrow before firing it. She over corrected, and the arrow thumped into the right side of the target. She let out an annoyed growl and looked up at Cullen.

“If you're aiming at someone’s chest, that's still a hit,” he offered first, earning him a curled upper lip from Idri. She knew that isn't what he would say to a recruit who missed so badly each time, so why would he say it to her? “Draw the next arrow and hold it for me.”

She complied, holding the arrow back so he could adjust the way she held the bow. His large hands felt warm even through his gloves, and she felt her face growing hot as he carefully moved her to just the way she needed to stand. She fired at his direction, and the arrow hit only a few inches away from the center. She smiled in triumph, and promptly drew another arrow to try again.

This time, Cullen didn't have to adjust her posture, and the arrow landed even closer to the center.

“Very good!” he praised, raising a hand to clap her on the back. He thought better of it and rubbed the back of his neck instead. “Thinking about putting down the sword?”

She scoffed, turning to face him. “Hardly. I just have to rest my shoulder for a bit.” She rotated it experimentally and grimaced.

Cullen frowned. “Is it still paining you?”

“Not as bad as it was,” she offered, though the admission did nothing to calm his frown.

He rubbed his chin, gloves scratching over his perpetual stubble. “Why did you even choose a two-handed weapon? It isn't something I would expect from...from someone like you.” He felt a blush coloring his cheeks even as he forced the words out. It wasn't how he meant to phrase the question, but it was already too late.

She squinted one eye at him. “Someone like me? Do you mean a woman or an elf?”

He cleared his throat and grabbed at the back of his neck. She kept the squint on her face as long as possible, watching him squirm. When he finally coughed again and forced out “Ah. Well. Both?” she let out the laugh that had threatened to spill over. Cullen relaxed immediately at the sound, satisfied that he hadn’t accidentally offended her with his poorly chosen words, and reframed the question. “I’ve just only known one elf that used a greatsword, and he was…” how to explain Fenris? “A bit of a special case.”

Idri nodded. She moved to the target to pull the arrows out, and Cullen trailed behind her. “Idri is short for Idrilla. It means ‘little rebel.’ Apparently as an infant I had some pretty strong ideas about how things needed to be for me to be happy, and they didn’t necessarily line up with how my parents wanted them to be.” She looked up at Cullen and grinned. “That attitude just stuck with me. They said I should work with our halla instead of being a hunter, because there was no way I would be able to face down bears and shemlen--ah, humans who wandered too close to our camp.” She sent him a little apologetic smile and turned to walk towards the smithy. He walked beside her, still listening attentively. It was the most he’d heard her speak of her past since she explained she couldn’t remember anything about the Fade.

“They said I should train with short swords instead of a greatsword because I wouldn’t be strong enough to wield one. So, of course, I had to try.” She grinned up at him, clearly proud of herself, and he found himself smiling back down at her. “I just--I don’t like it when people tell me I can’t do something. That’s why I have--” She stopped and shook her head. That wasn’t something she wanted to share yet. She passed the bow and quiver back to Harrit with a sigh.

Hands free, she turned to Cullen and leaned her back against the stone fence. She grabbed the hood of her cloak and flopped it over her head, peering up at him from under the edge. “To move from apprentice hunter to a full hunter, you have to bring back an animal pelt. Either a wolf or a bear. The other apprentice, Aedan, told me I wouldn’t be able to bring down a bear by myself.”

Cullen reached out and touched the ear on the cloak. “This is the pelt?” He suddenly understood why she wore it all the time, likely it was her most treasured possession.

“The very one. I’m lucky I was wearing it when I--at the Conclave. Otherwise it would be lost like everything else.” She averted her eyes and pushed off the wall to walk back to Haven’s main gate. Cullen followed her still, trying to figure out what to say in response to that admission. He hadn’t thought about her losing all of her possessions in the Temple’s explosion, but it certainly made sense. She had fallen out of the fade with nothing but the clothes on her back, but she had never complained.

He cleared his throat. “You hunt bear with a greatsword?”

She snorted. “No. Arrows are for bears. Greatswords are for people.” She gave him a wolfish smile, and he was suddenly very glad she was on his side of this fight.

The pair stopped walking just outside the gate. Idri prepared to go to the tavern to eat, Cullen needing to return to his recruits. She pushed the hood of her cloak back off of her head and looked up at her companion. Her eyes were damp, but her bright smile was genuine.

“Will you join me for dinner?”

Her question surprised him, and it took him a long moment to try to come up with a response. He opened his mouth once and closed it before trying again.

Idri cut him off. “Next time then. Just don't forget to eat, okay?” Her grey eyes bored into his, not upset that he was going to turn down her invitation, but trying to convey the seriousness she felt that he should eat.

He cleared his throat. When had she noticed that he skipped meals when his withdrawal was bad? Had Cassandra told her?

“Of course.” He bowed slightly, noting with amusement the eye roll she barely suppressed before she turned to walk back into Haven.


End file.
